


Happiness (Is Whatever You Want It To Be)

by Salmon_I



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, M/M, Post-Canon, Relationship Advice, not Adam friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 14:25:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19230934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salmon_I/pseuds/Salmon_I
Summary: Lance raised an eyebrow at that.  “You going to elaborate?”Curtis groaned, burying his face in his hands.  “I don't want to be that guy!”“What guy?”“The guy that trash talks his boyfriend's ex!”“Ok… but you want to talk about his ex.”“We had a fight about his ex.”“Ah.” Lance considered that.  “So, are we talking about Adam?”





	Happiness (Is Whatever You Want It To Be)

Having Curtis show up at his family's farm was not really unusual anymore. Having Curtis show up at his farm alone was. Still, Lance honestly liked the man so it wasn't as if he was going to turn him away for showing up without Shiro. Or even unannounced. He was also looking at him as if he was expecting to be rejected… or possibly shot at.

“Hey, Curtis, my man, how are things at the Garrison?” He took off his work gloves and offered him a hand.

Curtis looked absolutely relieved as he accepted the handshake. “Oh, the Holts are keeping everyone on their toes.”

Lance gave a laugh. “Oh, from what I've heard from Pidge that is an understatement! Wanna come in and have some iced tea? It's a long trip.”

“That sounds heavenly, Lance. Thanks.”

Lance waited til his nieces and nephews had greeted Curtis enthusiastically and they'd settled at the kitchen table with a glass of tea each to try further conversation. “So… last I heard Shiro was taking an actual vacation, of which you were hinted to be a part of. But I don't recall “invade the McClain family farm” being on the itinerary.”

Curtis winced. “Yah, it wasn't.”

“Don't get me wrong, I enjoy your company, but why are you here?”

Curtis sighed, running a hand down his face. “Honestly, you were the first person I thought to run to. But you and Takashi have a history. I shouldn't be here.”

Lance blinked, then started laughing. “Curtis, you did not just use the phrase “have a history” in reference to being Paladins! You made me sound like Shiro's ex.”

Curtis blushed, which made Lance cackle more. At least until the other man huffed out, “If you were his ex, it would prove better taste then he did have.”

Lance raised an eyebrow at that. “You going to elaborate?”

Curtis groaned, burying his face in his hands. “I don't want to be that guy!”

“What guy?”

“The guy that trash talks his boyfriend's ex!”

“Ok… but you want to talk about his ex.”

“We had a fight about his ex.”

“Ah.” Lance considered that. “So, are we talking about Adam?”

Curtis sighed. “Yah. Takashi just… he has rose tinted glances about the guy. Like he couldn't have ever done a thing wrong. And, don't get me wrong, I worked with Adam and he was an okay co-worker. Bit too by the books, but okay. And he died fighting for Earth, I get that too.”

“But?”

“But he was still a jackass! There. I said it. The guy was an asshole. Oh my God, I am that guy.”

Lance couldn't help but laugh again. “Curtis, everyone is that guy. Everyone at some point or another trash talks their significant other's ex.”

“Ugh.” Curtis thunked his head down on the table.

“Look, tell me what's got you so upset.”

“Adam wasn't… he wasn't good for Takashi. He was self-centered and it bugs me that he doesn't see that.”

“Are we going into details any time or do you just want to keep to general rants?”

Curtis sighed. “If you weren't already close to Coran and Romelle, would you still check up on them? Or, at the very least, if you heard they were upset, would you go see them? Try to help? Not normal upset. I mean… self destructive?”

Lance frowned, trying to understand how the question had relevance. “Well, I mean, yah, if I heard about that I probably would.”

“So tell me. Why did Adam, Takashi's very recent ex-fiance, never once check up on the kid who was pretty much Takashi's adopted brother when he supposedly died?”

Lance froze, the dots connecting. “Oh…”

“Or when he heard about the daughter and sister of the guys lost with Takashi, whose family Takashi was close with, literally breaking into the Garrison and getting banned - which he had to have heard given his position - why did he never check on her?”

“Well, neither Pidge or Keith would have been in the best mind set at the time-”

“We aren't talking about trying and failing. We are talking about never trying at all. Even if he never got close to Keith or Pidge himself - hearing what happened - knowing how much Takashi cared about them - how could he just turn his back? Go by the Garrison Handbook at a moment like that?”

Lance frowned. “Well, when you say it like that, it does sound pretty bad.”

“Do you know they broke up over the Kerberos mission?”

“I mean, I heard the rumors but nothing concrete.”

“You lost Allura, and yet no matter how much it hurt you go out there and tell others her story. You support her final decision no matter how much it hurt you.”

Lance bit his lip and glanced at his tea. “Well, you can't make someone's choices for them. And if you love them, then you should support their choices. They're their own person, and loving them doesn't mean telling them what to do. It's loving them even when they make a decision you don't like.”

“Adam gave Shiro an ultimatum. Him or Kerberos. Period.”

“That…” Lance grimaced. “I mean, I don't know all their history but, honestly, if a friend or sibling told me someone did that? I'd tell them to drop them like a hot potato.”

“See? You get it. And there's no way Takashi would ever act like that to anyone. So why can't he see how wrong it was that Adam behaved that way towards him?”

Lance sighed. “Y'know, Shiro was a prisoner for a good while.”

Curtis frowned. “Yah, sometimes he talks a bit about it. Never too much - just pieces.”

Lance nodded. “Being out there, not knowing if you're going to make it home. Taking one day at a time… you cling to the good stuff. Even if the only good you can think of that day is memories. You cling to that.”

Curtis frowned, then gave a sigh of his own. “You're saying Takashi probably used his good memories of Adam to keep himself going when things got tough. So, naturally, he's defensive against hearing about Adam being… less than perfect.”

Lance patted his hand. “Allura... there were times she dismissed my opinion. Especially during the time we thought Lotor was an Ally. She thought my distrust of him was petty jealousy. Even though she'd seen me set aside jealousy for the sake of the team not long before when Keith and I took over as team leaders. I don't think about those times as much. Or talk about them. I know she wasn't perfect. In a way, that realization was exactly what made it easier to move past a mere crush to loving her. But I don't dwell on her mistakes or when we disagreed. Those aren't the memories I want to think about.”

“I just don't want Takashi to base our relationship on the one he had with Adam. I don't want him to sacrifice for me or ever not do something he wants to do because he's worried about what I'll think.”

“He's going to make sacrifices for you, Curtis. And you're going to for him. That's a relationship. Nobody gets it all their way.”

Curtis groans. “You're too good at this. I both feel less like a jerk and more at the same time.”

“Because you see now your feelings were valid but so were his?” Lance prompts.

“Pretty much. But what do I do now? I can't apologize for what I said about Adam when I meant it.”

“No, you can't. But you can apologize for fighting with him. For hurting his feelings. And the next time you want to trash talk his ex, my door is open.”

Curtis chuckled. “Thanks, Lance. I owe you one.”

“Go get your man. Apparently he has these four people he has a history with. He could elope with Keith or Pidge any moment now.” Lance waved him off.

“Isn't Hunk who he spends the most time with these days?”

“How rude. Hunk is a one Sentient Being kind of man. Besides, if Shay doesn't marry him then Pidge and I get first dibs.”

Curtis snorted as he got to his feet. “You sure I shouldn't be worried about you stealing him?”

Lance chuckled, rising to his feet and throwing an arm around Curtis's shoulder to lead him to the door. “Well, if Keith, Pidge, and Hunk turn him down, I suppose that's always an option. So you should make your move sooner rather than later.”

Curtis laughed fully at that. “I'll be sure to take that into consideration.”

“Good… You make him happy, Curtis. He deserves that.”

Curtis pulled him into a hug. “We all do.”

Shiro sent out a group text the next day about Curtis and his engagement, Lance wasn't surprised at all.

  
_Fini_

**Author's Note:**

> So… yah, not an Adam fan, as this fic highlighted. I've read counter arguments in defense of Adam's behavior and I found them unconvincing. There is no evidence that Shiro was being "reckless" about his health. He's shown both wearing the wristband that gives him his medication, and using it. He tells Keith he won't be able to pilot in a few years - which means he's very aware of where his health stands. Plus, I do not believe for one moment that Sam would stand behind his choice - to the point of threatening to withdraw from the mission - if Shiro was being reckless with his health.
> 
> From a writing standpoint, Adam's lack or interaction with Keith or Pidge is to blame on the writers not inventing him til a later season. However the literal character history of both are set up in ways that cannot include Adam reaching out to them after the Kerberos mission. Both their isolation after the incident is part of their story. So, yah, none of that paints a flattering picture of the guy who was - rather recently - Shiro's fiance.
> 
> I'm pretty glad they gave us Curtis instead. I just wish they'd given us some interaction during the series instead of a single cheater ending scene.
> 
> Also, as much as I love angst, I'm kinda tired of reading fics where Lance is a mess after Allura's death so I wanted to write one where he's shown as being strong afterwards instead.


End file.
